What to see in Belgium: 10 must-sees
Discover what to see in Belgium: 10 must-see destinations, from Bruges to Brussels. Predominantly city and UNESCO heritage; each entry includes the best time to visit and the link to its official source.
City(6)
Cross the Grand-Place (1695), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, and stop before the Gothic Town Hall (1402-1555), the Maison du Roi and the 39 guild houses with their gilded façades. Look for the Manneken Pis (1619), the pissing boy with his wardrobe of 1,000 outfits, and go up the Atomium (1958), the 102-meter structure of iron atoms above Laeken Park. In the Royal Quarter, pop into the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (1847) to buy Belgian chocolate, visit St Michael's Cathedral (15th century) and browse the antique dealers of the Sablon, a district that has traded since the 11th century.
Explore Belgium's most underrated city, where the canals, the Castle of the Counts of Flanders and St Bavo's Cathedral create a medieval atmosphere less touristy than Bruges but just as charming. Founded as a monastery in the 7th century, Ghent was Europe's second-largest city in the 14th century, surpassed only by Paris, and today it preserves the Gravensteen (1180), Europe's most complete feudal castle, with its 33-meter towers and collection of weapons. Stroll along the Graslei, the canal where 11th-century merchants' warehouses reflect in the water, admire St Bavo's Cathedral (1280-1559) with the Van Eyck brothers' 'Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' polyptych (1432), the most important painting in Flemish art, and lose yourself in the alleys of the Prince's Quarter, where the restaurants around Pesseviver serve the best food in Belgium. The Ghent Light Festival (May) illuminates the city with projections on the historic buildings, creating a spectacle of light and color.
Discover the diamond capital of the world, where the gem trade has financed architecture, art and life from the 15th century to today. Antwerp was Europe's most important port in the 16th century, when the trade in spices, silks and diamonds from Asia and the Americas financed the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady (1352-1521), Belgium's largest Gothic church with its 123-meter tower. Wander the Diamond District (Pelikaanstraat), where 1,600 companies trade in diamonds, admire the Plomaa van de Stad (1561) and the Rubenshuis (1610), Peter Paul Rubens's house-studio where the genius painted his masterpieces, and lose yourself in the Harbour District, where seafood restaurants create a fishing-village atmosphere in the middle of the city. The Museum of Fine Arts (1890) holds the largest collection of Rubens outside Spain, with 40 of his works, while the Visual Arts Center (1993) hosts contemporary art exhibitions.
Descend toward the Meuse and find Dinant squeezed between limestone cliffs, the colorful houses of its main street reflected in the water. Take the funicular—or the 408 steps—up to the Citadel (1543): at the top await the view over the valley and the Second World War tunnels. Below, the Cathedral of Our Lady (13th century) raises its brick tower beside the statue of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone (1814-1894), who was born here. Round off the day with the Gouffre de Padiš caves, the Filot waterfalls and a local winery.
Discover Leuven, a Flemish city where the Catholic University, founded in 1425, educated Erasmus of Rotterdam, Adolphe Sax and 10 Nobel laureates. Stroll through the Oude Markt, Europe's longest square at 600 meters with 44 17th-century buildings in an unbroken façade, and visit the Gothic church of St Peter (1425-1497) with its 15 Baroque altars. Book a visit to the Stella Artois brewery (1366), the oldest still in continuous operation in the world, and end the day in the cobbled alleys of the Student Quarter, among cafés, restaurants and design shops.
Wander the smallest town in the world (0.14 km²), where 485 inhabitants live among stone houses, craft shops and flower gardens in a valley of the River Ourthe. Declared a 'Ville d'Art et d'Histoire' in 1967, Durbuy was a trading center in the Middle Ages, and today its artisans sell pottery, lavender soap and handmade chocolate. Walk up the main street lined with 18th-century houses above the river, cross the main square with its 16th-century fountain and Belgian-cuisine restaurants, and gaze at the valley from the viewpoint. In December, the Christmas market, one of the loveliest in Belgium, fills the streets with lights, music and stalls selling hot drinks.
UNESCO Heritage(1)
Take in Bruges, founded in the 9th century as a trading port and one of the richest cities in Europe in the 14th century thanks to wool. Climb the Belfry (1240-1280), an 83-meter bell tower above the Markt, next to the Basilica of the Holy Blood (1847) and the 17th-century guild houses. Glide along the Groenerei canal between stone bridges and brick façades, and head into the Groeningemuseum (1563) to see van Eyck's 'The Last Judgment' and Memling's 'Virgin and Child'. Its 70 kilometers of canals, 53 bridges and 24 churches beg to be explored on foot.
Natural(1)
Visit the Belgian Ardennes, in Wallonia, and hike trails that cross beech and fir forests between river valleys. Kayak down the Lesse or Semois rivers, stop in stone villages with centuries-old farms, and try the rural gastronomy: Trappist beers, cheeses, game and artisan charcuterie. It's the ideal region for combining hiking, river descents and family-style dining in small villages.
Monument(1)
Visit the city that was the scene of three devastating battles during the First World War (1914-1918) and today rises from its ashes as a monument to peace and reconciliation. Ypres (Ieper in Flemish) was 90% destroyed during the war but was rebuilt stone by stone between 1919 and 1965, recovering the 13th-century Cloth Hall, the Gothic cathedral and the Menin Gate (1927), the war arch where the names of 54,896 missing soldiers are engraved in stone. Every day at 20:00, the Last Post buglers sound the final call beneath the arch, a ceremony held uninterrupted since 1928 (except during the German occupation of 1940-1944). Wander the Commonwealth cemeteries, where 120,000 soldiers rest in identical white stone graves, visit the In Flanders Fields Museum with its recreated trenches, and catch the Peace Flower Festival (May-June), when the petals of 500,000 poppies cover the cemeteries.
National Park(1)
Immerse yourself in Belgium's first national park, 5,700 hectares in Limburg where purple heathland alternates with dense pine forests and sandy clearings. Pedal along the walled cycle paths that crisscross the park between low hedges, stop at the picnic areas scattered through the forest, and watch the terrain change with every kilometer: gentle hills, ponds, and open ground where the livestock that maintain the heathland graze.
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